Why cant u keep sps?
- Thread starter ycnibrc
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SeaDweller
2500 Club Member
I've been using MB7 and Dr Tim's ecobalance. Don't know if they're good or doing anything positive at this point, but I can tell you when used together weekly, I believe it caused my cyano issue. But that's just me guessing at what happened in my system. I still dose MB7, but just weekly and not with Dr Tims at the moment.
OP
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ycnibrc
SOCAL REEF TOTM 11/2019 GHL TOTM 02/2020
I dose zeobak and zeostart3 from kz zeovit.
SeaDweller
2500 Club Member
I think every post has you saying this. You should bold and highlight it in the first post or you'll be answering almost every post. LOL
Zeostart3 dose every day..???
Worthy1
Community Member
Well Bacteria sales have gone up overnight 
While i agree Bacteria is an important factor in reef tanks I personally would find it hard to pinpoint SPS issues to it. There are so many factors that make up an ecosystem and so many factors that rely on other factors. It is easy to pick any product that someone wasn't dosing when their sps failed e.g amino's or something they weren't feeding. There are so many factors that can cause sps to die that little things can be missed or not picked up. If Bacteria is missing or not 'enough' in the tank then SPS should not do well for a certain time and then decide to die.
Definitely worth looking into some more, again a bit hard to isolate it solely but it is always good to have something else to try if you are not having success.
While i agree Bacteria is an important factor in reef tanks I personally would find it hard to pinpoint SPS issues to it. There are so many factors that make up an ecosystem and so many factors that rely on other factors. It is easy to pick any product that someone wasn't dosing when their sps failed e.g amino's or something they weren't feeding. There are so many factors that can cause sps to die that little things can be missed or not picked up. If Bacteria is missing or not 'enough' in the tank then SPS should not do well for a certain time and then decide to die.
Definitely worth looking into some more, again a bit hard to isolate it solely but it is always good to have something else to try if you are not having success.
OP
OP
ycnibrc
SOCAL REEF TOTM 11/2019 GHL TOTM 02/2020
U can dose per week or per day. I divide the dosage to every day to make it easier to remember
OP
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ycnibrc
SOCAL REEF TOTM 11/2019 GHL TOTM 02/2020
When everything that you can do for your tank as far as parameters, flow and light are correct and still your tank is not functioning well then the only thing left is the bacteria source. If you watch the video with tropic marine he mention about the benefit of bacteria consumption of phosphate and the coral polyps eat the bacteria as food therefore get the phosphate that they need to grow. So in conclusion not only bacteria reduce phosphate they become food for the corals to feed and grow.Well Bacteria sales have gone up overnight
While i agree Bacteria is an important factor in reef tanks I personally would find it hard to pinpoint SPS issues to it. There are so many factors that make up an ecosystem and so many factors that rely on other factors. It is easy to pick any product that someone wasn't dosing when their sps failed e.g amino's or something they weren't feeding. There are so many factors that can cause sps to die that little things can be missed or not picked up. If Bacteria is missing or not 'enough' in the tank then SPS should not do well for a certain time and then decide to die.
Definitely worth looking into some more, again a bit hard to isolate it solely but it is always good to have something else to try if you are not having success.
OP
OP
ycnibrc
SOCAL REEF TOTM 11/2019 GHL TOTM 02/2020
Haha if i know i make my own name brand but u are in the right direction. It could be a fancier name for vodka
For another side of the story, (this is all what I remember off the top of my head) there was a guy a while back that was keeping a 20 long with a halide over it and corals in it. I don’t remember any fish or live rock or skimmer. I forget the thread and can’t find it, i think it was a while back on rc.
I always figured there were certain dry rocks to stay away from and a select few kinds that would be ok. I always thought once you add bacteria it’s not necessary to add it again unless there was a big change that happened. I wonder how much a thriving reef tank will benifit from bacteria additives.
I always figured there were certain dry rocks to stay away from and a select few kinds that would be ok. I always thought once you add bacteria it’s not necessary to add it again unless there was a big change that happened. I wonder how much a thriving reef tank will benifit from bacteria additives.
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ycnibrc
SOCAL REEF TOTM 11/2019 GHL TOTM 02/2020
Your coral consume bacteria as food so as the coral grow it will out consume the bacteria production. If we dont add more eventually the balance will be off. A lot of tank start out well then slowly declining even though their parameters are good. These are indication of the scenario above.
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ycnibrc
SOCAL REEF TOTM 11/2019 GHL TOTM 02/2020
Protein skimmer have little effect on bacteria population. It can skim out a little but wont be a problem. If your tank nutrients are low then dont turn off completely let the skimmer make bubble but not skimming so your o2 in the water still good
Zeostart3 smelled like nopox to me from what I can remember. I gave the basic zeovit system a try in June of 2018 after nopox and or gfo slowly killed every thing in my tank. ZeoStart3, Zeobak, zeo food, and zeolites with a small reactor all done at the recommemded doses. The only difference was the zeovit added brown slime to the rocks and glass as all my new acro frags died, again. Rebooted again with just growing chaeto and the rest is history. Y’all be careful with this stuff if you decide to try it. It did nothing positive for me. If you’re struggling with sps frags I guarantee you either you don’t have enough light or fish poop or both. It’s just that simple, assuming your big 3 are under control and your water isn’t contaminated. “Enough” or the “recommended” no3/po4 doesn’t tell the whole story. Yes corals feed on bacteria, but if you’re over skimming and stripping the water none of that matters. OP has an amazing tank but they are feeding 8 times a day. That’s the missing variable the majority of reefers are not utilizing. It’s not some special bacteria in a blue bottle. Just my $0.02, from someone that spent over $300 on the initial zeo start up.
OP
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ycnibrc
SOCAL REEF TOTM 11/2019 GHL TOTM 02/2020
Haha im not here to advocate zeovit. In the beginning of the thread i only mention bacteria. U can use any brand that suit your preferences. Zeovit is not an easy system to do because the dosage is very unique to each tank. If u dose per the zeo guidance then u could easily over dose your system. My point to this thread is bacteria will help your sps more healthier and better chance of survival. Aquaforest, Fauna marin, Brightwell, Triton , red sea all have their own bacteria source.
Worthy1
Community Member
That's a pretty long bow to draw as again it is assumed that everything is in check but we know not everything is tested for, could there have been a contamination, was there a spike in a level that wasn't caught in time (remember most people test once the damage has been done), pests that cannot be seen etc.'
You mention that the relationship between bacteria and phosphate but we are saying peoples phosphate levels are where they should be so therefore they are getting the phosphate(bacteria) that they need so there is no shortage?
No doubting the relationship between bacteria and phosphate and what corals feed on. They also feed on other things to which we could point the finger at if they are not getting. Are they getting the Amino's they need to prevent bleaching, zooplankton? some people swear by dosing phyto for their success to. Seeding the tank is no doubt important but the ecosystem should flourish with Bacteria overtime naturally which is why we advocate 'go slow'. Sure you can add it but I personally don't believe it is crucial for long term health. I have read many articles and tank journals of successful SPS tanks that don't mention dosing bacteria.
Again not doubting the importance but maybe that is addressing the cure rather then the problem. Is the problem that we focus on stripping too much nutrients out before it gets a chance to create more bacteria. People are so focused on keeping the nutrient levels at a certain level that the system is not getting that chance. There is no harm in safely spiking levels every now and then and let the system deal with it rather then oh crap nitrates and Phos has crept up a little, I better do a water change, increase my fuge light etc. Just a thought.
I like the way you think.
